Closure-arresting device

ABSTRACT

Holddowns which retain container closures such as can ends and maintain their proper alignment with rotating chucks of container closure-lining machines are made by suspending a narrow, bowed, leaf spring or wire above the path of travel of the closure through the machine and arranged to bear on the closure before it is stationed upon the chuck in a lining receiving position. It is preferred to arrange the spring so that pressure is applied on the closure substantially over the center of the closure.

0 United States Patent 1151 3,639,968

Price et al. Feb. 8, 1972 [54] CLOSURE-ARRESTING DEVICE 2,386,797 10/1945 Hohl ..29/208 13 [72] lnventors: Raymond E. Price, Belmont; Clifford F. gsf xgl Tine", South weymouth both of Mass. q

[73] Assignee: W. R. Grace & Co., Cambridge, Mass. Primary Emmi'lerJ0hn R C pbel 1 Assistant Examiner-Donald P. Rooney [22] Filed: Apr. 9, 1969 AlrorneyTheodore C. Browne, William L. Baker, Metro [21 I AppL NOJ 814,645 Kalimon, Armand McMillan and C. E. Parker ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl ..29/211, 29/208 B, 99/181, I

H3/l20 Holddowns which retain container closures such m can ends 511 Im. 01 ..B23g 7/10 and maintain their PmPe' alignment mming Chucks n 11 container closure-lining machines are made by suspending a [58] new of Search 29/211 208 2 narrow, bowed, leaf spring or wire above the path of travel of [56] References Cited the closure through the machine and arranged to bear on the closure before it is stationed upon the chuck in a lining receiv- UN T STATES PATENTS ing position. It is preferred to arrange the spring so that pressure is applied on the closure substantially over the center of 670,835 3/1901 Bergland ..29/208 B closum 1,990,148 2/1935 Tevander .....29/208 B 2,109,763 3/ 1938 Anderson ..29/208 B 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEB FEB 8 I972 3.639.968

sum 1 or 2 FIG. 2

INVENTORS RAYMOND E. PRICE CLIFFORD F. TIRRELL BY MAEQ I i m y PATENTEDFEB 81972 3,639,968

SHEET 2 [1F 2 FIG. 3

RAYMOND E. PRICE CLIFFORD F. TIRRELL CLOSURE-ARRESTING DEVICE This invention relates to holddowns for container closure lining machines, and provides means for properly aligning closures, and, for instance, minimizing spin-outs and jams which are caused by minor dimensional errors in the closures, passing through the lining machine.

In the usual lining machine, a closure is carried to a rotary chuck in an upside-down position. As the closure on the chuck rotates, sealing composition is ejected into the sealing area of the closure. Many machines are equipped with a holddown pad, usually a flat, generally rectangular plate having a width approximately equal to, or greater than the diameter of the panel portion of the closure, spring-biased and suspended above the path of travel of the end and just in front of the chuck. The pad descends upon the closure after it leaves the delivery hopper and holds the closure flat against the table surface of the machine prior to its being delivered to the chuck.

One problem associated with the use of such a pad arises where a closure, for example, is slightly warped so that some portion of the panel of the end is higher than the remainder and the pressure pad cannot engage the whole surface of the panel. The result is that the can end, which is being moved by the delivery feed bars of the lining machine, tends to revolve around that point which is pinched between the holddown pad and the can end. As a result, the end is often delivered to the rotating chuck eccentrically which can cause a jam or cause the can end to be thrown off the chuck. Should the pad contact the panel surface fully, rotation of the end can also occur due to the uneven pressure developed.

The difficulty which has been described can occur with any type of end, but from a small number of occurrences when heavy and mediumweight tinplate forms the end, spin-outs and jams become progressively more numerous as the gauge of the metal is reduced, or when very thin aluminum ends which bend very easily are to be lined.

We have discovered that the above and other difficulties may be avoided by employing, in place of the conventional holddown pad, a narrow leaf spring having a side or a diameter less than the diameter of the closure, the longitudinal extent of which is parallel to the path of the closure as it moves from the delivery hopper and onto the chuck, and further, which is bowed such that a downward pressure is exerted upon the closure as it passes beneath the spring. Preferably, the lowermost extent of the bowed spring is positioned such that it contacts the closure substantially at its center.

In the accompanying drawing,

FIG. 1 shows the spring in side view in its relation to the associated parts of a container closure lining machine.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the spring in its relation to the container closure lining machine.

FIG. 3 is a side view, partly in section, showing the spring and its relation to a can end and a chuck.

FIGS. 40 and 4b are front views of two embodiments of the spring contacting a can end as it passes beneath.

FIG. 5 shows a typical pressure pad conventionally employed, in contact with a can end.

In FIG. I, the holddown means of the invention, 10, in this case, a narrow leaf spring, is supported by suitable support means, II, in front of rotating chuck, I2, and above the path of travel of the can end from hopper, 13, to chuck, l2. Feed bars 14 have inclined edges 15, which push the end across the planar surface of table 16 into position on the rotating chuck where lining composition is deposited in the end from nozzle, 17. The ends are removed from the chuck and collected at stack 18. The spring, 10, holds the end against the table as the end passes beneath it.

FIG. 5 illustrates one difficulty often occurring when a conventional pressure pad, 19 of a lining machine meets a can end having an uneven panel surface 7. Contact is established substantially only at the high point, P, of the end, creating a focal point about which the end rotates as the end is moved by feed bars, 14. As pointed out above, such resolution of the end can result in jammin or cause the end to be thrown off of the rotating chuck. y arresting the end, preferably substantially at its center, with a narrow bowed leaf spring or wire, as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, revolution of the end as it is delivered to the chuck can be prevented. Only a small area of the panel of the end comes in contact with the spring, 10. The downwardly directed pressure of spring, 10, is sufficient to hold the end securely on the table but since spring, 10, touches the end substantially only in the central portion of the panel, the end will not rotate despite differences in the height at opposite ends of its diameter.

As mentioned above instead of a leaf spring, a wire spring, 20, FIG. 4b, can be used. Such a spring presents even a smaller area of contact than does the spring shown in FIG. 1, but nevertheless will hold a somewhat distorted can end on the table properly.

The small area of contact between the end and the spring successfully overcomes the development of offcenter rotation. Machines equipped with the holddown springs herein disclosed operate satisfactorily on thin-gauge steel and light aluminum ends which distort so easily under factory handling conditions that they have been a considerable source of trouble in can closure lining machine operation.

We claim:

1. A container closure lining machine having a rotating chuck, feed bars to place closures on and remove closures from said chuck, and means to prevent spin-out by insuring the proper positioning of a closure on said chuck, which means includes a longitudinally bowed spring supported above the path of travel of closures to said chuck, the longitudinal extent of the said spring being parallel to the path of travel of the said feed means and its vertical position being such that the said spring will exert pressure substantially at the centers of closures passing beneath the spring at a point immediately in advance of the delivery position of a closure to said chuck.

2. The combination of claim I wherein the bowed spring is formed from a round wire.

3. The combination of claim I wherein the bowed spring is a narrow leaf spring. 

1. A container closure lining machine having a rotating chuck, feed bars to place closures on and remove closures from said chuck, and means to prevent spin-out by insuring the proper positioning of a closure on said chuck, which means includes a longitudinally bowed spring supported above the path of travel of closures to said chuck, the longitudinal extent of the said spring being parallel to the path of travel of the said feed means and its vertical position being such that the said spring will exert pressure substantially at the centers of closures passing beneath the spring at a point immediately in advance of the delivery position of a closure to said chuck.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the bowed spring is formed from a round wire.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein the bowed spring is a narrow leaf spring. 